Escape – ‘Fire In The Sky’ (AOR Heaven)

By David O’Neill

This is a remix of previously released music by the band and its members from various sources. They originate from the North of England and some of the tracks are almost 30 years old so that should give you an idea of the influences and style of AOR/rock music you are going to get. There are nuances of Asia/Foreigner and similar styled bands of the late 80s and early 90s. This is no more obvious than on the opening keyboard solo of the first track ‘Lost And Found’.

‘Heroes In The Night’ reminded me of ‘Dream Police’ for about five seconds at the opening, but that was where the similarity ended. With band members that have performed in many bands and recorded a significant number of albums over their careers, it can easily be heard where their influences arise.

There is no doubting the ability of the musicianship on show but whilst some of the songs are old (and in some places the style is aged) with the amount of talent in the band and the time of the pandemic on their hands it would have been nice to hear some new music that demonstrated how their style may have developed throughout their careers. The majority of the tracks are similar in style and the mix is very good and there are some banging guitar solos in the breakdowns (most notably at the end of ‘Temptation’ and ‘Restless Heart’).

The tracks all come in as potential radio plays at around four-five minutes, with the exception of the standout track for me: the title track, ‘Fire In The Sky’ – a nine-minute epic. All in all, it’s a good album to introduce the new lineup to the world but one or two new tracks would have been nice. I’m sure they will pick up audiences at gigs around the country after the world returns to some semblance of normality, and I would go to see them if they were local to me, and probably enjoy the set as they are all excellent musicians.

‘Fire In The Sky’ is out now. You can get your copy HERE.

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